Purity, Community, and Ritual in Early Christian Literature

Moshe Blidstein Oxford Studies in the Abrahamic Religions Charts the development of a multifaceted discourse of purity in early Christianity, drawing on, rejecting, and reworking previous traditions Provides analysis of many dimensions of ancient Christian purity, including dietary restrictions, death pollution, ancient psychology and demonology, sexuality, and church rituals Focuses on the Didache, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, and the writings of Paul, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen